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Every 12 months we choose 100 video games to hail as the perfect PC video games which you could play right this moment. It’s an inherently fraught endeavor.
100 is sort of a big quantity for those who’re speaking about what number of creepy Victorian dolls somebody owns, but it surely’s not all that many PC video games. Nearly 20,000 video games launched on Steam final 12 months alone, and we’re choosing from the complete historical past of the medium (albeit with a specific give attention to video games we suggest to right this moment’s viewers).
Alpha Protocol
Released: 2010 | 2024 rank: N/A
Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: I’m a longtime Obsidian fan but only a recent Alpha Protocol convert—PCG news writer and RPG afficionado Joshua Wolens has been trumpeting its virtues for years. Some of our colleagues argue it shouldn’t be on the list due to “horrendous minigames,” “barely passable combat,” “an offensive degree of Xbox 360ness,” and writing that, at its very worst, “can resemble a really embarrassing Mad TV sketch from 2002.”
Don’t listen to them: This game rules. Alpha Protocol’s combat is stiff, a lot like the first Mass Effect, but it’s also a way better stealth game than it has any right to be. More crass or “lol random” jokes aside—Suave Mike may be the most canceled man who ever lived—the character writing is excellent, the thriller plot is surprising and fun, while as a cultural artifact of the Global War on Terror, Alpha Protocol holds up better than any mainstream work of fiction about intelligence or the military I can recall from the time.
Part of that is because Alpha Protocol’s just smarter than its contemporaries: You could do it in the ’90s, and you’re allowed to do it now, but for awhile it was pretty verboten to write a story where an American spy agency and military contractor were the real bad guys looming behind global terrorism. The cherry on top is that Alpha Protocol eschewed the self-righteous solemnity of shoot and cry movies like The Hurt Locker or deadly serious torture apologia like 24 and Zero Dark Thirty in favor of swashbuckling fun: It’s Roger Moore’s James Bond brought to the late aughts.
Alpha Protocol’s also one of the most intricately reactive RPGs I’ve ever played, with its potential variations in response to minor playstyle quirks and major decisions alike resembling Deus Ex and Baldur’s Gate 3. The dossier social system, which extends RPG companion approval to the entire named cast—including the antagonists—is like nothing else out there. Josh and I may have to compile dossiers of our own to blackmail our coworkers into voting Alpha Protocol onto the list in 2026.
Civilization 6
Released: October 20, 2016 | 2024 rank: #83
Tyler Wilde, US EIC: After playing Civilization 7 for the first time, I was talking to a fellow fan of the series, and we agreed that it was going to be controversial—but also that, whatever its faults, there’s still a special je ne sais quoi to Firaxis’ grand strategy games, an effect of their whole presentation that makes founding that first city by a lovely winding river or secluded bay feel like slipping into a warm bath.
I’m not saying that Civ 7 should’ve been on the list. I don’t hate it like some do, but no, I’m still vouching for Civ 5 and Civ 6. They remain accessible, fun, and complex enough to provide thousands of hours of loosely-historical statecraft that none of the other grand strategy games on the list replicate. Alpha Centauri (#50) is over 25 years old, and sci-fi strategy games like it and Stellaris (#80) never appealed to me as much as Civ, with its tiny archers and WW2 tanks.
Crusader Kings 3 (#5) is of course historical, but CK3’s medieval succession crises don’t interest me as much as Civ’s exploration and city management. Next year I’ll push to get Civ back on the list, or if not that, something like Old World, the 2022 strategy game from Civ 4 designer Soren Johnson, which we’ve described as a mix between Civ and CK3. (A good state bureaucrat knows when to compromise, of course.)
Monster Train 2
Released: 2025 | 2024 rank: N/A
Evan Lahti, Strategic Director: It stings when you’re unable to convince your fellow Top 100 voters that the game you’re most passionate about is worth their attention. Monster Train 2 deserves to be held in the same esteem as Slay the Spire. It’s just as intricate and replayable, with combos that are just as satisfying to pull off. MT2 is more Magic: The Gathering-like with the menagerie of creatures you arrange on three different floors of the train, which prompts creative decisions on unit ordering as you try to tank damage and clear out the enemy’s backline units before they ascend to the top of the train.
I’ve put more than 200 hours into it this year, and I’ve cleared all 50 of its achievements, one of the only games I’ve been compelled to make that effort for in all my years as a PC gamer. I guess that’s just the nature of a slightly niche genre, and a sequel, to exclude those who haven’t played it in the past, but if you have any appetite at all for card games or strategy, Monster Train 2 is one of the best games in either genre this year and my personal GOTY.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Released: | 2024 rank: #54
Sean Martin, Senior Guides Writer: In an ideal world, we’d all be sitting around toasting Warhammer 40k: Darktide’s inclusion in the top 100, but it’s important to remember that even though Darktide has been floundering for quite some time now, we still have Vermintide 2 and it’s still one of the best co-op action games you will ever play.
It’s been over seven years since the game was released, but it’s still getting new maps, and, in many ways, has had a much more consistent DLC life cycle than Darktide so far. There are tons of missions, weapons, and careers for each character—hell, it’s even got better free cosmetics than the ones you can get in Darktide.
It’s also one of the most authentic Warhammer Fantasy games, with excellent character banter, and its combat is still best-in-class. If you enjoy mowing down hordes of enemies with friends à la Left 4 Dead 2 or Helldivers 2, I would unequivocally recommend Vermintide 2. It’s just a shame, as someone still playing Darktide, that it needs a fair bit of work to reach the level of its predecessor.
Released: November 11, 2011 | 2024 rank: #37
Jody Macgregor, Weekend/AU Editor: Replaying the Elder Scrolls games recently, I was impressed how much I remembered from Morrowind, which is #54 this year. The botanical growths of Telvanni towers, the lighthouse at Seyda Neen that looks like a remnant of a different civilization, fog rolling back to reveal the cantons of Vivec—Vvardenfell is indelible, its weirdness imprinting itself on your mind and carving out a space it never leaves.
There are a handful of equivalents in Skyrim, but not nearly as many. Instead, it earned its place on the Top 100 in previous years by being the accessible Elder Scrolls game you could recommend to anyone, with combat that doesn’t involve hidden dice rolls and characters who don’t talk like a wiki.
It speaks well of Skyrim that it took 14 years to start seeming crusty, but it finally has. If you’re playing today you’re installing mods and wrestling with bugs—Skyrim’s physics still break if you run it faster than 60 fps, for instance—and once you start adding caveats you may as well tell someone to go back and play Morrowind. As someone who used to defend Skyrim a lot, especially in the era of “Dark Souls was the better RPG of 2011” thinkpieces, it is sad to see it go. But I know in my heart Morrowind’s more interesting, and if we put both on the list people would be mad there was one less spot for their favorite online strategy point-and-click.
Final Fantasy 14
Released: August 27, 2013 | 2024 Rank: #34
Andrea Shearon, Evergreen Writer: Even with Top 100 voting long behind us, I’m still arguing with myself over whether or not I should’ve gone to bat for Final Fantasy 14 harder. It’s in a rough spot right now, no doubt, but I’m not convinced its stagnation is solely from a lack of quality updates. And if you want a good Final Fantasy, it’s among the best of them with so much solo player support added over the years.
I sort of get it. 2025 was the first time I’ve taken an extended break from Eorzea since Alphascape launched in Stormblood, but I’m still championing FF14 as the best MMORPG you can play right now. I reckon that’s not saying much when I mostly agree with Harvey’s read on today’s MMO scene and the struggle to stay fresh. I’m busy as hell, and I lose interest fast when I miss a patch and have to play catch-up.
But even as it is, I’d recommend FF14 to both the hardcore MMO types and the “I’m just here for the story” folks. Play it from the beginning, take your time, don’t skip the cutscenes, and unsubscribe between updates. A Realm Reborn’s slow beginnings are good when you don’t have a—you know what, never mind. Just trust me when I say all 300+ hours are worth it, and I hope the next expansion puts it back on the list.
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